


Split

by ChloeWinchester



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, The Dark One (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-26 01:17:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4984246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeWinchester/pseuds/ChloeWinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Dark One is pulled from Rumplestiltskin and rather than taking a different body, it makes its own, a likeness of the Spinner he spent so long in. It wants mayhem, death, destruction...and Belle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Manifestation

**Author's Note:**

> The rating and archive warnings will change as the story progresses.

“No need to look so startled, dearie!”

Belle was frozen in the middle of the street, the dagger useless and hanging limply at her side, staring into a face that nearly mirrored her husband’s entirely. Body, voice mannerisms, they were, for all intents and purposes, Rumplestiltskin.

But certain things made it clear this was The Dark One instead.

Emma had called her name, called her out here when the melee had died down and The Dark One had rested in a new form.

Its own.

She had been on the floor of the shop, trying to keep it from possessing Rumple again if she could help it, trying not to panic that he wasn’t waking up and likely wouldn’t until...until he found strength again, that’s what the Apprentice said.

How could he find strength if he was asleep? That was impossible, how-?

She shook her head a little, bringing herself back to the street, squeezing the dagger she’d snatched up from the pavement and held it aloft, brandishing it at the creature. “Dark One! I command you-”

He laughed at her, shaking his head. “Have to have a soul for that to work, now don’t I? Dagger controls the soul of the being The Dark One possesses. But I’m all on my own down. No strings on me, dearie, I’m free!” He grinned, spreading his arms wide in demonstration.

His face moved as Rumple’s did, his voice high and flitting. His eyes were black as anything, the smallest of definition revealing where he was looking. His nails were long, teeth sharp and the barest of black shadow touched his jaw and his throat, as if the darkness inside was just under the surface. They blended into the suit wrapped around his body, just as dark as he was.

The face was one she loved. Perhaps that was why she could only stare at him now.

He began to circle her, grinning horribly. “Oh, isn’t it wonderful to finally see you in person,” he growled. “I spent so long in the spinner’s head, got to know you so well.” He looked her over appreciatively and her jaw clenched.

“Is that supposed to frighten me?” She demanded, gripping the knife now, as if it could do something. “Put me off?”

“Oh, of course not!” He laughed, getting closer to her now. “You aren’t afraid of much of anything, are you? Part of why I like you so much. Such foolish bravery.”

“It’s not foolish to stand up to you. I’ve been fighting you since I met Rumple.” Her grip flexed on the blade.

“And yet, you never won. Not with your bravery, not with your care, not even twoo love could save the spinner from me,” he grinned.

“Why is that?” She demanded. “Why didn’t it work? Because Rumple didn’t want it?”

“That’s what I told him!” He giggled. “He’s so frightened of everything, has been since he was a boy. Afraid Papa will leave him, afraid he will die and his son will be fatherless, afraid his wife will hit him again, afraid his son will go to war, afraid the curse he has taken will twist him into something vile.”

He grinned, gently lifting her chin. “I even made him scared of you, dearie. So terrified to be without me I poked at those little seeds of doubt to make him realize you couldn’t love him. And even if you did, that would change. He’d see that one day.”

“I never stopped,” she said softly, glaring at the creature. “Never.”

“Ah, but that’s not what you showed him,” he said, letting her go and stepping back. “Banishment doesn’t really say ‘I love you,’ does it, Belle?”

She just looked at him, shaking her head a little. “That’s none of your business anymore.”

“You, dearie, have been my business for some time,” he growled, taking her by her waist and pulling her closer. “Every little thing the two of you have done I have seen. Everything you’ve said, everything you’ve divulged to him, every thought of you he’s ever had is in my memory too. Oh, and what he has thought…” He laughed, spinning her around with him, as if they were dancing.

“Let me go!” She bellowed, shoving away from him. She raised her arm to drive the blade into him and he caught her wrist.

“Ah, ah, ah!” He laughed. “That’s not very kind of you, princess! Not very heroic. I didn’t think you’d hate me so much!”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” She ripped her arm free and drove the dagger into his side, a sliver of hope arising that perhaps she’d done it.

The Dark One grinned at her and shook his head. “Gonna take more than that to beat me, Belle,” he growled. “But you don’t have to stay here. You don’t have to wait by the spinner’s bedside and hope he wakes while I tear this town apart. You’re better than that. You-”

“Get away from her!”

Belle whipped around, the anger gone from her expression. “Rumple?”

The Dark One rolled his eyes. “This is all a bit dramatic now, isn’t it?”

Rumple looked scared. He looked absolutely terrified but his jaw was set and he was there, he was close. Limping , cane in hand but he was there.

“You’ve done enough,” Rumplestiltskin said, standing taller. He would not cower from this being, not after the centuries of spending every waking moment with it. “You’ve caused her enough grief without treating her like a doll, let her go. Or you’ll regret it.”

The Dark One laughed, still holding onto Belle tight. “I did no such thing, spinner!” He giggled. “No, no, no, you’re the one who made the decisions. All I did was give you a bit of a push.”

Belle looked to Rumple, who gave her a pained expression and flicked his eyes back to his own face. “If it’s a fight you want, if it’s revenge, take it out on me, not her. She did nothing to you.”

“She spent the better part of your little relationship trying to get rid of me,” he growled. “I think I’ll do as I like with her.”

Belle’s glare deepened and she steeled herself. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here!” She rammed her head right into his nose, shoving away from him when he grunted in pain and rushed to Rumple’s side.

The Dark One was laughing again, pinching the bridge of his nose, which healed in seconds. “Good! Oh, that’s very good, dearie. Such a bite in this one, Rumple. Belle, you’re so blindly devoted to him and you don’t even know who he is!” He grinned.

“I’ve seen the man beneath the darkness,” she said firmly.

“Ah! Beneath it, yes, but never without it. You might not like him so...vulnerable. Weak,” he remarked, sneering at Rumple as he walked closer to them, weaving between the frozen heroes. “Not like these people here, oh no. Precious Snow and Charming and their wee babe, your former student, even that pirate is better than you’ll ever be.”

“I’m not as weak as you think I am,” he grunted out, wrapping an arm around Belle’s waist to keep her from getting between them. “I’m stronger than you.”

The Dark One laughed again. “Nothing’s stronger than The Dark One, dearie, you know that,” he grinned. “You’ve lost your power, Spinner. You’ve nothing left. You’re a weak, pathetic little man just as you were the day I found you. You may as well be helpless.”

He was bearing down on them quickly, a glower in his face Belle had never seen before and again she tried putting herself between them.

Rumple pulled her back and threw up his arm in defense. A strong wave of magic surged from him, slamming into The Dark One and knocked him back into the clearing.

Belle looked up at her husband, eyes wide. he stared back at her, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “See? Told you I wasn’t helpless.”

Belle shook her head a little. “You didn’t know that would work, did you?” She asked, smiling back.

“No, no, but it was an alright guess, hm?” He chuckled.

“Touching as this is!” The Dark One snarled, something like jealousy in its face. “You’re not going to be safe forever, dearie. Can’t always be on guard. And when you’re not, I’ll take her from you.”

“What makes you think I would ever, ever do something so ridiculous?” Belle demanded, breaking away from Rumple’s side.

The creature cocked his head, grinning horribly. “Everyone likes the taste of the darkness, Belle. Absolutely everyone. You’ve had your fill of it over the years. Tasted nearly every inch of it, haven’t you?” He giggled when she blushed. “You’ll want it again, believe me. No one is immune. And Rumple Bumple by himself isn’t going to be enough for you. Just wait.”

He waved a little and vanished in a cloud of silvery black smoke.

The moment he was gone everyone else could move.

Snow and Charming grabbed for Emma to make sure she was alright and Hook closed in too. Henry stood nearby, frowning at the ground as if he were trying to piece all of this together carefully.

Rumple stared at Belle, who hadn’t moved yet and was looking at the spot The Dark One had once been, and slowly reached for her hand, scared she would jerk away.

She jumped a little but grasped his hand, turning to look at him. She threw herself into his arms, holding the back of his head, eyes shut tight.

He didn’t speak, afraid to shatter this moment, and held her.

“It’s not true,” Belle said finally, neither of them aware that all attention was on them again. “What it said, it’s not true.”

“I know,” he whispered, but his tone revealed otherwise. She touched his face, going to speak again when Regina loudly cleared her throat.

“Touching as this is,” she admitted, lips pursed. “How the hell are you even awake?”

“Belle needed me,” he said simply. “I...I dunno, felt it and woke to help her.”

“The Apprentice said you would need strength. You’d need to find it somehow,” Belle said, looking up at him.

Rumple smiled again, gently touching her face. “I found it in you, Belle. As I usually do.”

“That could’ve been useful, why didn’t our true love do that?” David asked, and Snow smacked his chest.

“That wasn’t our story,” She said firmly.

“We need to find that bloody thing before it actually starts doing some damage,” Killian interjected, glancing at the Charmings.

“And then what?” Regina snorted, looking at him. “Ask for it to stop? Offer a gift basket and some coupons for Granny’s if it doesn’t tear us all apart? That’s such a wonderful plan you’ve thought up, Pirate, let’s get right on that!” Robin touched her shoulder to soothe her anger a bit. She took a breath. “We need a way to kill it before we do anything else.”

“I’m sorry, ‘we’?” Rumple asked, eyes narrowed.

“Well yes, this affects all of us,” Snow frowned.

Rumple laughed a little. “I warned you about the Dark One since before we came to Storybrooke. I told you,” he looked to Regina, “what it was capable of, and that it was coming and none of you ever lifted a finger to help. You did a fantastic job of ripping my wife’s heart out-”

“What?!” Belle spat, rage filling her face. “You did what to me?!”

“Regina!” Emma glared.

“I gave it right back.”

Rumple took a jerking step forward and Belle grabbed his arm to keep him still. “I think our point is, this is our fight. We’re going to be the ones to deal with the Dark One. We know it better than any of you so...back off. If we need you, we’ll let you know,” she said, eyes imploring to everyone but Regina. “At least for now let’s just, get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

She shook her head, eyes pained and turned back toward the shop, one hand on Rumple’s back.

They needed to go home.

~*~

He hadn’t said a word the whole way home. Belle drove and kept her fingers laced in his, looking as if she were trying not to cry the entire way.

Even inside the house he didn’t speak, sitting on the bed and looking at Belle as she started to change, trying to think of what he could say.

Belle took her hair down, kicked out of her shoes and took off the tights, moving quickly around the room. If she moved fast enough she wouldn’t have to think about the day, about how terrified she’d been that Rumple would never wake up, the things he said to her on the floor of that shop, the story they had been in, happy and good with a family and-

“Hey.” He gently took her wrist in his hand, stopping her and looking up at her, eyes pleading. “Belle, it...I…”

She looked at him, letting out a breath, tears standing in her eyes. “I thought I lost you. Again.”

“I’m sorry,” he said immediately. “I know that isn’t enough but I… Belle, I-”

She shook her head. “Rumple, I know you didn’t write that other story. You didn’t tell Isaac what to do, he made his own choices. I know that.”

“I told him to make you happy too,” he breathed. “To give you your happy ending and if, if you didn’t- If it wasn’t with me that was alright. I wouldn’t know any better. But that wasn’t- That isn’t who I am, I’d never hurt a child, he made me…”

He took a breath to steady himself. “I just want to be good, Belle. I want to be good enough for you. For myself. I want to be the man you and Bae always knew I could be. I wasn’t before. I wasn’t in that other story, but I-I can be. Now. I want to be. I want to give us another chance, but I understand if you don’t-”

Belle held his face in her hands, quieting him. A tear slid down her cheek as she smiled at him. “I love you,” she whispered. “And it, it’s going to take some time. we have to rebuild what we lost. But…” She looked at her hands, taking them from his face. She moved her ring back to her left hand. “There’s some things that haven’t changed.”

She smiled at him, and Rumple pulled her into his lap and kissed her. Gingerly, delicately and without infringing on her too much. She deepened it, lacing fingers in his hair and kissing him feverishly.

They talked for hours.

He explained to her what happened at the well, what he told her and her reaction was the same. She kissed him again and pressed her small hand over his heart to protect it from anything else getting in.

He told her about disguising himself as Killian, lying to her while he was in New York, pretending to be the professor and having her talk to him. He whispered out his apologies for deceiving her, offering to leave her alone, to quit the house altogether if she didn’t want him to stay, he understood. He was foul her her, he froze her and switched the daggers, he. He hated himself so much for what he’d done to her.

The tightness in his gut only grew when she told him she forgave him. She wasn’t overly happy about it, but she was glad he told her.

“I’m always going to love you,” she confessed. “Nothing can ever make me stop, Rumple. I’m… I’m not happy about it by any means, but I understand.” She took his hands, squeezing them tight and looking at him firmly.

“You have to be brave and tell me these things. Talk to me and I’ll understand, remember? I’ve thought a lot of, of ridiculous things about you and magic but when I know what’s happening I don’t-”

She paled, as if realizing something right just then. She looked at him. “Rumple, the gauntlet. I was wrong about the gauntlet. It leads to- The dagger is your weakness because it- Oh, what did I do?!”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” he promised, steadying her and smiling gently. “Shh, don’t, Belle, don’t. It’s alright. Shh, it’s alright, Belle. Look at me, darling, hey.” He ducked his head to meet her eyes. “It happened. It’s over now and I’m likely better off for it.”

“I sent you away with nothing,” she implored. “Anything could have happened to you all because I didn’t listen. I was too angry I… I treated you like everyone else had I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head and embraced her, holding her tight. “Shh… It’s okay. It’s alright, I’m okay now. We’ll figure all this out, hm? Figure out each other and...and us and we’ll be alright.. Take it one thing at a time, okay? I forgive you, Belle.” She needed to hear it, even if he didn’t believe there was anything to forgive. It wasn’t her fault he was a monster… That monster was gone now. Out on its own and now it was his chance to be good. be who she needed him to be.

No more secrets. No lying, no hiding. He was going to be honest with her always. And she with him. They needed to talk more, about everything, they decided. Any time Belle felt uneasy about his mood or how he was behaving she would ask. If Rumple was harboring something, painful, dark or otherwise, he would voice it to her. They would work together.

They would be together properly.

No more secrets.

Eventually they were smiling and laughing with each other. Belle giggled like mad at the thought of Rumple walking around in a robe and eaten Ramen noodles, promising she’d make him something more substantial for breakfast.

“Oh, if I ever smell them again I’ll go mad, I swear I will,” he laughed, shaking his head. “Terrible stuff, just awful.”

“I’m sure Ruby’s tomato soup is worse,” she said. He shook his head.

“Even her boiled ketchup is preferable.”

It would be shortlived, but  the Dark One was forgotten about. Just for the night.

“Here,” he said gently, placing his hand over her heart, a soft glow coming from his palm. “Now no one can take it from you. I don’t know why I didn’t do it before.” He brushed his fingers against her cheek, lying beside her.

She smiled a little and pressed her forehead to his. “Because I didn’t think anyone could steal my heart but you,” she breathed. He laughed a little, shy.

“I...thought that thief might have,” he said quietly. “Which is, is fine, you’re welcome to make your own choices, I-”

She silenced him with a warm kiss.

“You know how, how I do that thing where I distract myself with something when I’m upset? Like...the library? Going for a walk, helping Emma and the Charmings when Zelena had you, um, running away, helping Ariel find her true love. I...I think I did that with Will. It meant nothing and I didn’t even like him that much. Horrible kisser. Only did it once.” She made a face and shook her head. “But I’ve been spoiled, so.”

“I saw that,” he said quietly. “When I got back, I was...checking on you. I was going to talk to you but…”

She softened, saddened. “Rumple-”

“It’s alright,” he promised. “It’s alright, Belle. Don’t feel guilty, you did nothing wrong. It’s okay.”

“It didn’t mean anything,” she whispered. “I...I wanted you so much and I couldn’t think, I couldn’t sleep. I never slept well. I was up all night crying every night I was a mess without you. And I don’t want to be without you again. I need you.”

He kissed her on instinct, pulling her closer. “And I you,” he breathed. “We’ll be alright. We’ll make this work. Dark One or no I’ll...We’ll figure this out.”

Belle smiled and nodded.

They fell asleep on top of the covers, nestled together under his suit jacket. Yes, they had a very long way to go with each other. With everything.

After they took care of the Dark One.

 


	2. Becoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The curse infected an innocent man and warped him for its own gain; Belle and Rumple talk about the next step in dealing with the Dark One

The moment the weak spinner took on the curse he realized his work was cut out for him. Such frailty in him, such a warm heart, such a good heart. It was sickening. All that love that made him so vulnerable.

However, that vulnerability was useful.

The Dark One seeped into the Spinner’s body, wrapping around his bones and clinging to his soul. He wrapped a protective vice around his heart, unable to penetrate it...yet. Time would allow him to devour all that bright pink goodness resting in there, and he had all the time in the world.

Filing through the memories of this man, this Rumplestiltskin, he discovered so many little goodies he could use. Such a tortured little thing. Abandoned by his father, abused by his wife, shamed by all those around him-

Oh. The soldier that forced him to kiss his boot to save his child. What a lovely little spot of humiliation. It made the best rage and wasn’t rage the most beautiful conductor for dark magic?

The only good thing Rumplestiltskin had, the only thing keeping this spindly little body going, was his son. How precious this man viewed his offspring, how dearly he wanted to cherish him where his own father had simply thrown him away.

Too good to be true. Such an easy pawn for him.

The Spinner was gasping, standing now with a bloody dagger in one hand, Zoso’s corpse not far, struggling to stand even with the walking stick held in his white-knuckled hand.

“What do I do?” He asked, trembling. “How...how do I save my boy? I...I don’t know what to do.” He gasped, staring at the blade in utter confusion.

“That could’ve been thought through a little better, couldn’t it?” The Dark One asked, manifesting before the man in Zoso’s form, one he knew.

Rumplestiltskin took a step back, staring with wide eyes. “You…” He looked at the body, then at the apparition. “I don’t- I killed-”

“I’m not him,” he explained. “I’m the voice. The Darkness inside you, and your guide as to how to use it.”

“Why, why do you-?”

“Oh, does this form displease you?” He chuckled. “I can try another. How’s this?”

The Spinner blinked and he’d changed into the form of his wife. “Is this better?” He asked with a cruel smile.

Rumplestiltskin shook his head minutely. “No. No, please go back to the other one. Please.”

He shifted again in a cloud of smoke, back to Zoso. “Good. Don’t question me. You want to save your son, don’t you?”

“Yes!” He said, desperately clenching the dagger. The Dark One grinned.

“Then give in.”

He frowned. “Give in to what? I don’t understand.”

“Let the Darkness,” he pointed to himself, “flow through you. Don’t fight me. Use me as you see fit.”

The Spinner stood a moment, trying to think of some way to do as he was told. He swallowed, looking between the dagger and the staff, and dropped the staff.

He held out his freed hand over his ankle, and healed the damning injury with a burst of purple light.

All pain that came with his visible shame vanished. The soreness disappeared, the sharp shocks of pain that rattled him from walking too much today was gone. For the first time since Baelfire was born, Rumplestiltskin stood on his own. And he smiled.

The expression had barely touched his lips when he changed. His skin warped with a golden tinge, eyes darkening to an inhuman shade. The power was electric in his veins, causing him to shudder. No one could touch him.

No more scorn, no more hisses and whispers. No more stones thrown at him, no more shouting, no more beatings, no one robbing him on the road, no one harming his heart ever again, never.

He was strong now. His smile grew.

The Dark One chuckled.

“Good. Very, very good. Already embracing your power so well. Now, how about I show you how to kill the men trying to take what belongs to you?” He goaded. The Spinner frowned a little, the spell broken.

“Bae...he’s not a thing, he’s my son,” he muttered, the darkness clearing a bit from his mind.

“Yes, yes,” he dismissed. “Do you want to save him or not? Do you think you’re ready?”

“Yes,” he said immediately.

“Then shut your mouth and listen.”

By sunrise, Rumplestiltskin was indeed ready, more ready than most other Dark Ones he’d made over the years. No, this one wanted strength and power. He wanted a guarantee his boy would be safe and that’s precisely what he gave to him.

Of course, he had no idea what he was doing to himself, which just made the Dark One absolutely tickled with delight.

The frightened Spinner didn’t even use magic to kill all the men he wanted. One burst of strength to crack Hodor’s neck, and The Dark One itself even felt a tickle of delight, after being controlled by the imbecile for so long.

The rest Rumplestiltskin stabbed to death, right in front of his boy, who stared at him in absolute terror. The Dark One couldn’t have been prouder.

“Papa, what has happened to you?” He asked, wary and so confused.

“You’re safe Bae,” Rumplestiltskin, grinning. “Do you feel safe, son?”

“No, I’m frightened,” the child blurted, backing away from his father.

“I’m not,” Rumplestiltskin said, smiling even wider, the dagger gripped tight in his worn hands. “I protected what belongs to me.” Baelfire blinked. “And I’m not scared of anything.” The Spinner growled through his teeth, the carnage around him making for the perfect picture of destruction.

The Dark One grinned right back at him, bowing in his approval of his work.

Then the boy ran to his father and wrapped his arms around his father’s waist.

The malice, the bloodlust, the anger, all of it vanished from Rumple’s face the second Bae touched him.

“Papa, come back,” the child begged tearfully, clinging to him. “Please, Papa!”

Rumplestiltskin stopped, looking at him, realizing himself. He shakily put the dagger away and held his child, holding the back of his head. “Shh, hey, hey. It’s alright, Bae.” He lifted his chin in careful fingers. “It’s alright. I didn’t go anywhere, see?”

“I’ve never seen you look like that before,” he croaked, tears in his young eyes.

“I, I know. I’m sorry,” he whispered, gently petting his hair. “The… Bae, I’m the Dark One now. Things are going to change, but for the better. I promise.”

“Like...ending the Ogres war? Bringing the children home?” He asked. Rumplestiltskin beamed.

“That’s right, my boy, just like I said. I swear it to you now. And I don’t go back on my word, do I, Bae?”

The child smiled and shook his head. “No, Papa.”

Rumple turned his child away from the mess. “Let’s get some breakfast in you before I go, hm? And you need some rest. I know you didn’t sleep last night.”

Baelfire smiled and walked back toward the house with him while the Dark One glowered at the back of  his head. Of course that good heart in the Spinner would be so touched by this child. Pathetic little man letting himself be held back by such...meagre things.

The boy’s life would last a fraction of his own, didn’t he know that? It didn’t matter, no life of anyone he met would matter.

He would wait.

The Dark One was patient.

Rumplestiltskin paused outside their door, starting as if he remembered something. “I nearly forgot,” he chuckled. He turned so Baelfire was facing him and snapped his fingers, a ball appearing between his hands. Baelfire’s eyes grew a little and he took it from his father’s outstretched hands. Brand new, no scuffs, no dirt, nothing he found abandoned somewhere. A toy just for him.

Rumple patted Baelfire’s hair. “Happy birthday, son.”

~*~

Belle wanted to kiss him.

He was sleeping soundly, the sunlight falling through the curtains and onto his skin, warming him. His hair glittered when the rays touched it, the crease he usually had in his brow from utter frustration of forcing himself to sleep utterly vanished.

The ease about him, the utter lack of tension and worry in him was incredible, and that need to risk disturbing  that had her lips tingling.

She settled for reaching out and gently, cautiously even, brushed his hair back from his face, relishing the silk-like feeling on her fingers. She touched his cheek, just the barest of pressure against his skin.

He was here, and he was alright. No death looming over him, no panic, no curse -not in the sense it had been, anyway- and no reason for them to be apart anymore. He was here, right here with her. And she wouldn’t be letting him go.

He hummed a little, pressing closer to her and she smiled. He deserved peace. He deserved a decent night’s rest after centuries of being denied it, and here she was fussing with him. However when she tried to move he just followed her, and she covered her mouth to stop her giggle. He was so cute.

A little sound came out anyway and Rumple grunted softly, barely blinking awake.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “Go back to sleep, Rumple.”

He smiled a little, moving a bit stiffly in the suit.”It’s alright. It-”

He huffed and sat up, stripping out of the layers until he was in his undershirt, tossing the button down with a pointed huff. He looked back up at her and smiled, then pulled her closer to him greedily, kissing her with a languid eagerness.

Belle hummed and melted into it, cheeks burning with a sudden blush. She missed being kissed like this.

When he released her mouth she let out the breath she’d been holding, dazed as she looked at him. “I love you,” she said quietly, smiling.

He brushed his lips against her forehead and drew her in so she could rest on his chest. “And I love you, Belle,” he said gently.

“Good,” she smiled. “Now go back to sleep. You haven’t rested in centuries.”

He laughed a little, blinking sleepily. “But I miss you.”

“Belle smiled gently. “I’ll still be here, won’t I?”

His expression fell, some of that wondrous light fading from his eyes. “I’m still not sure about that.”

“I, I don’t understand, what do you mean?” She asked, head cocked.

He swallowed. “I mean...I’m afraid I’m still asleep. And this is all a strange dream. Wonderful right now but with The Dark One wandering… I’m not sure. I can’t be sure I’m truly awake.”

Belle touched his face, sweeping his hair back again. “You’re awake. Unless we’re having the same dream and I hear that’s very, very rare.”

He laughed a little, but it was short lived. “Good things don’t...don’t happen to me, Belle. And if they do, they don’t last,” he gently touched her cheek, dark eyes brimming with sadness. “I, I ruin it, sweetheart.”

Belle shook her head, placing her hand over his. “You were cursed, Rumple, it wasn’t all you.”

“It was me enough,” he nodded. “I gave into it. I stopped fighting.”

“You’ve been fighting for three hundred years, Rumple.”

“And I gave in more often as time went on. When I let go of Baelfire, when I sent you away, our marriage and my lies, I...I wasn’t strong enough. It nearly killed me. I let the curse blacken my heart so much it nearly took it. The Dark One nearly devoured my soul, even when it could do what it has now.”

“It didn’t take you,” Belle implored. “You fought it. You did everything you could to keep that from happening.”

“To save myself.”

“To save _everyone_. You warned Regina, didn’t you?” She said, meeting his eyes again. “You told her what would happen and she kept it to herself, she didn’t listen. That’s her fault, not yours.”

“Belle-”

“No! You aren’t going to sit there and tell me you’re a bad man when I know it’s not true. I know that underneath that curse, free from it, that’s exactly who you can be. Your heart is pure, Rumple, and you decide who you are. Not the curse, not me, not anyone in Storybrooke. Just you.”

She took his hands in hers. “If you want to be a hero, you be one. And you, you do it by beating the one thing that no one else here can possibly understand.”

He smiled at her, soft and small. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Belle,” he said softly, pulling her close.

She held him, hugging him tight. It was quiet for awhile before he spoke again.

“What if I’m too afraid?” He whispered. “What if I’m...I’m still a coward?”

Belle shook her head again. “Cowards don’t wake up from magical comas to save their wives, Rumple.”

He laughed a little, squeezing her tighter. “Any chance The Dark One won’t do anything for a few hours?” He asked, leaning back to look at her.

Belle smiled. “I think he’ll wait awhile.”

He smiled back and wrapped his arms around her, lying back down on the bed with her. “Good. I’m still tired.”

She giggled and nuzzled his nose, awed by the light in his eyes. Rumple was free.

~*~

The Dark One was free.

He paced through the Spinner’s cabin, tucked away from the prying eyes of those heroes who were no doubt scuttling about their little city trying to pin him down.

And what could they possibly do if they found him again? Shout at him?

Would the Savior and little Regina try and fight him with their magic? How quaint it would be, how cute. He didn’t have to be subtle like Rumplestiltskin. He didn’t have to fight any urges, he wasn’t tied down to some wretchedly sentimental weight of a soul.

That tie had been severed.

And...so had the tie with that girl of his. That Belle. Such a funny little thing she was. So angry and defiant of him, so ready to dismiss him as a monster.

But when he’d been in her precious Rumple, oh, then she thought differently of him, didn’t she?

He saw Belle when her own inhibitions were gone. When she went by Lacey and had no idea who Rumple really was. Lacey had enjoyed the Darkness far more than Belle seemed to.

But weren’t they the same person? Wasn’t Lacey a faction of belle, a side of her? Diluted more in the real woman, but… still there.

The Dark One knew Belle liked him, liked the thrill of doing something bad. The good girl begging to be spanked and fucked in the back of the shop, the sweet girl pleading to be marked by the Spinner’s teeth, calling him Dark One when his growls and snarls were especially guttural and needy.

Yes, Belle liked him on a primal level she didn’t want to admit to. And if there was anything The Dark One was good at, it was getting innocent people to succumb to their most base desires with a simple whisper into their ears.

He could do the same to Belle, he just needed time. He may even get the Spinner on board as well if he spoke prettily enough. Seduction wasn’t hard.

Besides, the cabin was dank and bleak. Boring. Toying with the heroes would be fun for  awhile but what really intrigued him was getting Belle with the right person. The right image of her twoo love.

He chuckled to himself, looking around the empty cabin once more.

How...odd it was. To be here. Alone.

To be everywhere alone.

He wasn’t sure he liked it all that much.

He turned and lit a fire in the brick pit, thoughts turning to the pretty brunette once more.

 


End file.
